Lorenzo Lagos Union Bargaining Power and the Amenity-Wage Tradeoff Abstract: This paper studies the relation between the wage and amenity components of compensation under collective bargaining. Using the universe of collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) in Brazil, I augment information on workers’ wages with the comprehensive set of amenities codified in the text of these contracts. I then estimate the effects of increasing union bargaining power with a difference-in-difference strategy that leverages 1) a judicial decision that prevented the expiration of existing CBA provisions—a policy known as ultractivity and 2) gaps in CBA coverage across establishments when the policy was enacted. I find that boosting union power causes an increase in both wages and CBA clauses without a subsequent decrease in employment. A revealed preference approach to estimating the wage-equivalent value of negotiated clauses shows that amenity value also increases, comprising approximately45% of workers’ total gains in compensation. Results are consistent with collective bargaining functioning as a labor market institution that counters monopsony power, but where employers retain the right-to-manage the composition of their workforce.

eCornell Keynote: Ironically, the Information Age poses threats to the official statistics and information infrastructure that we rely on to guide our most important policy, business, and personal decisions. The outcomes of our laws and decisions can only be as sound as the data that informs them. Statistical agencies are confronting falling survey response rates, poor funding, privacy concerns, and attacks on their independence. We’re facing a slow-moving problem that’s quickly headed toward crisis unless we intervene and retool our data infrastructure. At the same time, new data sources, cheap hardware, and novel software are generating big opportunities that we can capitalize on in the very near term. To craft a 21st-century national data infrastructure, Cornell ILR School’s Erica Groshen says we need to create new, blended data statistical products and adopt data standards to meet these myriad challenges. There’s a path forward, but it’ll take strong political will and a national focus to correct the course. What You'll Learn The threats and opportunities for federal statisticsWhy these statistics matterHow to build a 21st-century national data infrastructure with blended data and data standardsHow you can take steps to try and avoid this looming issue SPEAKER: Erica Groshen Senior Economics Advisor, ILR Labor Dynamics Institute Cornell ILR School